Re: [Tcllib-devel] Microsoft lawsuit? [Re: pure tcl bmp reader/writer]

[Cameron L. <Ca...@ph...>]

On Wed, May 16, 2007 at 11:09:54AM -0400, Kenny, Kevin B (GE, Research) wrote:
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> All that Microsoft has done is to *threaten* suit in a press release.
> Even the number and distribution of the patents mentioned in the
> release were taken from a report from Open Source Risk Management.
> If Microsoft wants to go around threatening to sue its customers
> (how many deep-pocketed open source users aren't mixed shops, anyway?)
> it is committing corporate suicide in a particularly painful manner.
> OIN, backed by IBM, Sony, Philips, Novell, Red Hat, NEC, and 
> Sun, is waiting in the wings to attempt to enjoin Microsoft from
> infringing on the hundred or so patents in its portfolio; if
> Microsoft actually fires a shot in this war, several commentators
> have compared the likely result to "patent Armageddon", where
> everyone sues everyone else and nobody can ship product until
> the legislature intervenes.
> 
> In any case, it's virtually impossible even for a well-heeled
> corporation to do due diligence on Microsoft's seven thousand or
> so issued patents (to say nothing of its pending applications).
> Until and unless Microsoft identifies the specific patents for
> which it claims infringement, it's all posturing.
> 
> Stephen Vaughan-Nichols of E-Week has a fair summary of this non-story:
> http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2129586,00.asp
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SJVN's great, of course.  Here's more: <URL:
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070515125107293 >;
and especially <URL:
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070513234519615 >,
where PJ warms up with the heavy artillery square on-target.